


WanderFell

by JellyFicsnFucks



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Doctor/Patient, Experiments, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Laboratories, Loss of Parent(s), Major character death- gaster, Minor Character Deaths, New Au, New Family, Origin Story, Trauma, Underfell -ish universe, artificial monsters, dusting, hunger, unable to leave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 22:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17252441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellyFicsnFucks/pseuds/JellyFicsnFucks
Summary: P6 ( Papyrus ) grew up in the labs with Dr. Gaster. Now he has a new brother P1 (Sans) and they only have each other.





	1. Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being gone from this fandom for so long.  
> I've taken some stories with me when I left, so please excuse the mess while I re-upload old work. 
> 
> I'm really surprised to have a following of people who like my stuff, so thank you for the love and support. The messages I've gotten mean the world to me and it makes me terrified to let you down. ฅ(๑’Δ’๑) I'm really sorry to leave you hanging for so long.

The doctor was late. Again. Papyrus curled into his knees and sat in the corner of the room. This spot was where he normally sat, it was far enough from the ac vents that he could preserve his warmth, and away from the bright overhead lamp light in the hall. He had a bed here, a flat slab of metal that stuck out from the wall. No pillow, no blanket. Only the red flashing light of a camera in the opposite corner. The only thing that kept his mind preoccupied was the small sounds of the light flickering or the buzz of electricity humming from a distance. His soul rumbled inside his ribs, the sound echoed off the empty holding cell walls and bounced back and forth inside his skull.

This was punishment. Or... at least that's what he thought the first night. For disobeying the doctor and trying to run away. No dinner. No water. But he didn't regret it. He got farther this time, in his escape he had made it to the second floor. There were other monsters that saw him. Scientists who paused what they were doing and asked him if he's allowed down in the labs. Their kindness proved there were nice monsters in this world. Monsters nicer than the doctor but then he fell asleep, as he always did when the doctor became impatient. The metal device on his neck injected him with a tranquilizer and he woke up in his cell.

Alone again.

That was four days ago. Normally the doctor would have come by to antagonize him. Try experimenting on him. Or at the very least...feed him. But there was nothing. No sign of the other. Papyrus banged his head on the wall. He wanted to eaaaaat... Damn. He'd settle for dirt if he could. At least it would be something to fill him.

Then there are footsteps. Soft, wet, slapping of bare feet against the concrete. Footsteps are sluggish and coming towards him. About damn time the doctor got here.

"I was starting to think this was another test of yours." Papyrus huffs. He stands up from his corner and approaches the cell doors. "Trying to test my limits, Doctor?" He hangs his arms out the cell bars and leans forward to see the doctor but what he sees shocks him.

The straight faced, stoic, bastard was actually looking haggard. His white lab coat was soaking wet, hidden underneath an orange lifesaver vest. He'd taken off his shoes and socks, his pants were rolled up to the knee. His shoulder was split, his blood still fresh and dripping though it didn't affect him from using his arm to unlock the cell. If Papyrus didn't know any better he'd have thought the doc went white water rafting.

"You look like shit. Some co-worker drag you through a pool?"

The doctor breathed heavily, too tired to retort to him today. He palms his head and waves for Papyrus to come out his cell and follow. Papyrus raised a brow. This seemed too easy. The doc was already half dead and his cell door was open. Even without magic he could knock the other to the ground. They were already the same height. The years had made him grow into a fine specimen. He was sure he was stronger than the doctor, but the doctor had his magic still. A head on attack would be dangerously stupid.

Papyrus walks out the cage and settles into a walk side by side down the hall with the doc. "I'm hungry." He reminds him. "If you want my cooperation today, I demand food first. Not through an Iv either! I want real food. I'll give Asgore a good review if its meat."

"Then we'll both be thoroughly disappointed wont we. P6."

"Papyrus."

"When will your little rebellion end... things were so much easier when you couldn't talk back." They finally stop at a door. A door Papyrus has seen before. He knew it on one of his many escape routes. He thought maybe this led outside or to the elevators but the door was locked so it always remained a mystery.

"I have a surprise for you. Maybe you'll think of staying put, now. Eh?"

"Not another puppy..." Papyrus grimaces. "I'm aware of your little games. I'm not as naive as I used to be. So can we skip past the lecture doc? Meat. Now. I'm half inclined to eat the dog."

The Doctor fumbles around his pockets for a key ring and produces a single silver key. It slides into the door and clicks. "For someone starving you sure talk a lot." The door creaks when its opened. The hinges, old and unused. Papyrus takes a look inside from over the doctor. He was intensely curious of this place but couldn't see anything until boney fingers slid against the light switch on the wall.

The room illuminates in sections. Each part coming to life and shows the depth of the warehouse behind the door. Giant aquariums sit along the walls. Glass tanks full of motion and bubbles. It... seems familiar to Papyrus. Like a memory he cant quite touch on. He felt like he had been here before.

He follows the Doctor inside, and looks around the place like a tourist. On the left are rows and rows of cubicles, abandoned by scientists. Some are covered in plastic, though others towards the outer isle still show use. Fresh coffee, printed papers, family photos... On the right are the aquariums most appear to be vacant. Wires and hoses hang down into them. Bubbles float through the surface, creating a veil in the water. Some tanks are teaming with life though. One contains the many rare, exotic fish. One is a home for snakes. Looks like a breeding area for them. New, odd , genetic imperfections occur inside of them. Inside of all the creatures here. Fish with three eyes. Snakes with two jaws. Snakes with feet. Fish with nails....

"It keeps the lab funded when your results prove useless..." The doctor comments. Behind him Papyrus mimics him with a sour upturned chin. And then he spots it on a desk. The clay like skull mask of his blaster. It is a helmet attachment the doctor created from his magic and something that brings an instant smile to Papyrus's face. He snags it off the desk and hugs it in his hands.

"My blaster! oh, buddy. I thought I'd never see you again... whos a good boy. Whos a good bo-"

"You know it can't hear you right? Never mind, put that thing down. Its not a toy and I'm currently modifying it. The last thing I need is you activating it and having it self implode. You'll be wasting thousands of tax payer dollars."

"But- "

"Down. Now. P6. You'll get it back when you stop trying to run away."

"I wouldn't run away if you just let me go outside! I was gonna come back!"

"I doubt that."

"I doubt that...nyeh." He puts down the blaster mask and takes his place back at the doctors side. To his surprise he doesn't get reprimanded for mimicking him. The doctor just continues forward through the giant warehouse, hissing with pain as blood drips down his arm and creates a cookie crumb path behind them.

"That looks bad, Doc. Want me to heal you?"

"Nice try, but I'm not unlocking your magic inhibitor."

Papyrus rubs at his neck. Just the mention of it made the metal collar feel suddenly heavy. The device kept him sedated when necessary and blocked off his magic. It was a completely unique prototype, and weighed like a brick. He'd tried to take it off before, but it only responded to the doctors magic signature. It wouldn't come off without his touch. Still, Papyrus presses. The doctor wasn't without his faults. Perhaps he would allow a little leniency.

"You sure, Doc? Seems like your giving the janitor a lot of work."

An eye roll and a 'tsk', signals to Papyrus he should shut up. He steps in time with the doctor, bored out of his mind and hungry. He sees a stack of sheets down the hall. Towels, tarps, sheets, and blankets thrown on the floor like a barricade. It seems to be their destination. As they get closer he notes the towels are soaking wet, sponging up water on the floor from spilling elsewhere. On the right, the glass tank is cracked and leaks water onto the floor. Where a small shivering, naked, skeleton sits bawled up in four sopping wet towels wrapped around him.

"This is G1." The doctor takes a step back. "Mind the glass."

\---

Papyrus stood in place where he stood. The skeleton looked up at him. Fearful and panicked. It scattered backwards. Unleashing a barrage of red projectiles as it retreated under a desk. Papyrus dodges the first with ease, the second clips his knee.

"He has his magic!?!"

"... Yup." Papyrus takes a look back at the slovenly doctor, surprised to see his arm impaled with the others attack. The doctor yanks out the foreign object and throws it to the floor. "I attempted to collar him but it seems the device was unusable. It wouldn't stay locked. Further more, I am unable to predict where his attacks will land. He appears to block my precognition. Or perhaps he doesn't abide by it. Either way, now he's your responsibility. Deal with it."

Papyrus bends down to a knee and stares at the tiny skeleton under the table.G1 has bright red eyes and looks around in a frenzy. Too many new sounds, sights.... he's confused and scared. Papyrus looks back over his shoulder at the giant broken tank behind him.

Ah~ This was where they were made. Maybe that's whey Papyrus felt it was familiar. "So he was just ... hatched... or something right? I've always wanted a little brother."

"He's your elder... regardless, take care of him. I need to get some medical attention." The doctor turns around and starts to head back down the long hall.

"What do you mean elder?" The doctor doesn't turn back. "Wasn't he just... Doc? DOC!? Wait! What about dinner!?" Papyrus turns back to the floor, where the tiny skeleton was crawling away. Trying to hide to another desk and get away from Papyrus. "You were just born, huh buddy? Must be confusing...Don't kill me or anything please. I can't defend while I'm wearing this bs collar." He takes a seat on the floor cross legged and slumps his head onto his knuckles. "Guess we'll just wait here huh? Nothing better to do. G1 is a pretty lame name. Doc has no charm for these things. I'll name you... Red. Hmm.. guess I'm not so good with names either. "

Red blinks his eye lights in and out, fading from view. One of his eyes doesn't focus too well. It flickers with a small spark of magic, the iris was slightly off colored. His soul is a vibrant hue that stays lit within his ribs. Its fluttering wildly. Cautious. Scared. Papyrus scans him, but the only information he can ascertain is that the other doesn't understand him. But of course... he was just made.

"Happy birthday, kid." Papyrus sighs. "Another failure experiment... or are you the version supposed to replace me huh? Maybe I should kill you before I get scrapped. Birthday cake would be nice right now... doc only makes it once a year... if I'm good. Been a while... " He mumbles on and on to himself. Lost in thought. To his surprise the kid starts to move closer to him. When he stares out at Red he remains frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. Or perhaps he thought he was invisible if no one looked at him. Papyrus smirks, turning his head away and spies through the corner of his eye as Red crawls to him.

And collapses on the flat of his stomach to Papyrus's side. At first Papyrus thinks that Red will start to cry, but the child just lays there. Lazy. Red windmills his hand around and smacks the top of Papyrus's knee, his tiny clammy hands irritating the small scratch on him.

"That kinda hurts kid. You a sadist or something? Nyeh heh... heh... Talking to a damn brat. I must really be loosing my mind here. Uuuuuugh, I want to eat. Damn doctor. I'm not a babysitter."

A green glow starts to emit from the child's soul. The telltale sign of active healing magic. Pretty advanced trick for a kid.... Papyrus stands impressed. He looks at the scratch on his knee. Surprised it left no thin scab or bruise in its wake. It just... healed.

"Pretty good for a squirt. Not as good as me... but thanks." Papyrus hums. "You still afraid of me?..."He slowly moves his hand over to pat the top of Reds head. No movement. No attack. Red looked tired. Maybe firing off so much magic had exhausted the poor little guy. "Okay... How bout we get you some real clothes... and get me a real meal." Papyrus sighs. He stands up and pats down the hospital gown, before picking up Red and sheds him of the damp towels. The child eagerly clings to his neck. Wanting to be held for warmth. His hand brushes over the magic inhibitor collar and the device falls down to the ground with a solid metal thunk.

Papyrus stares at it.

Red stares at it.

"How the hell did..." He looks to Red, his eyes growing wide until his pupils dissipated in a void of black. "... its his magic.Oh... OH." He reaches towards his neck, feeling the soreness ease away. "That's why.... he couldn't get one on you... they weren't faulty they were... unlocked. Every time?"

Red clings to him, drooling a bit on his shirt. Falling asleep despite being talked too. Papyrus extends his hand out and feels the weaves of his magic returning to him. ... he could... escape like this. Right? Or at least ... clear the second floor without being sedated. Maybe he'll get to see the underground instead of these damn labs and offices. Maybe he could-

No. That was silly. He bends down to pick up the collar and puts it back around his neck. Its heavy, feels right on place at his neck as it locks and turns green again.

He had to time this right. With Red as his key, he couldn't allow the doctor to know his escape plan before it was perfected. And besides.... he needed to eat.


	2. Escaped Expirement

As long as Papyrus restrained himself, he was allowed to roam free in six adjacent rooms across the basement level. The doctor had marked each of these rooms with blue tape that swept under door frames and marked off rooms as 'safe'.

Safe meaning they were accessible to Papyrus without consequences. And that each one was covered in cameras and looped around to lead to the next. Any other door unmarked or purposely painted with a sign meant for employees only was off limits and normally locked. The room he stood in now was one of these locked sectors, the place where the doc made them. Having never been here before, Papyrus's eyes focused on the back wall with three doors. It was so tempting... and yet he knew he should travel down the same hall the doc had used and proceed back to the blue labeled safe zones.

Red is quiet the whole way, he's fallen asleep and doesn't respond when Papyrus felt the sudden urge to pat his head. Nor does he fuss when Papyrus makes his way to the clothing chute and dresses the other in the oversized green colored robe meant for patients. "Quite the lazy brat, aren't you?" He muses out loud and picks up the child again.

His soul clenches at his ribs for food. As a skeleton monster, food wasn't required for more than healing but the routine of eating had made him hunger for something solid. If he followed the blue path he could get to the kitchen easily and quell this pain in his chest.

But...

He could also follow the red path. The path spotted with dots of blood. Splattered unevenly on the cemented floors, like the doctor was running. There was a surprise. It was likely he didn't close doors behind him. Mistakes like that were often his undoing... Papyrus had explored sub-floors eight through two that way. Using the doctors sleeping schedule against him, using their daily bitch fest and mocking conversations to earn himself a few more vital details to escape.

The bloodied path, like the three doors, was tempting as well. But another gurgle of his stomach reminds him of his main quest.

He sits Red at the table, and scans the fridge for leftovers. The act always proves to be fruitless, the only thing in the fridge were vials of liquid, unidentifiable bodily fluids, packets of donor blood, and the lunch of a young employee named Jerry who apparently never came back down to the labs to collect his growing mold horticulture that once was a sandwich.

Not that it mattered much since Papyrus enjoyed cooking when he could. It was one of the few hobbies he was given here in these labs. Though he was limited to whatever the doctor was feeling like teaching him that day, which normally meant making pre- prepared meals that didn't require more than a microwave and a plastic fork.

The doctor was careful about weapons. Once, while it a particularly good mood, he'd let it slip that a human once tried to break into the kingdom armed with nothing but a butter knife. Then he handed him a spoon and told him to shut up. They ate in quiet that day, his good mood instantly gone, the doctor was mourning. Papyrus shook his head, ridding himself of any guilt he felt for his maker.

The cabinet was pretty bare, it looked like the doc hadn't left for a grocery run in some time. That disappointed Papyrus, all that was left for him was the bottom cheese dust from a bag of chips and a can of tuna. No can opener in sight. ...

He let out a long breathy sigh and turned to face the camera in the top right corner of the room. He waved at it, trying to get the docs attention. If he was watching, maybe he would speak up through the microphone. If not... then the doc was definitely on the floor above them. Seeking medical attention from another scientist instead of going to a hospital. 

After a few more, useless, moments waving at the camera Papyrus gave up and sat at the plastic folding table with his new, sleeping, brother. Papyrus pet his tiny skull, thinking of how interesting it was that the doctor had made Red to keep Papyrus locked here and now that same creation was going to be his key to escape. 

Papyrus stuck his head on the cool table, mimicking the smaller skeleton, and closed his eyes tight. Maybe when he woke up he’d be surrounded by sunlight and trees and grass beneath his toes. Something that wasn’t cemented floors and walls with wires and exposed pipe running in every direction.

He opens his eyes when something is slammed in front of him. Take out food. Take out food was good too~ not as great as his dreams but good. He followed the paperbag up the arm that held it and to the doctor. Unsurprisingly. 

He sits down, dropping a bag of groceries from his other hand onto the table. Its contents spill out slightly, formula, milk, tiny jars filled with mashed fruit, and a quart of powdered bran fiber… “Wow doc, for me? You shouldn’t have…” He pulls the jar of baby food from the bag and rolls it on its side, playing with mild amusement. The doctor, unbagging the contents from the smiling ‘Thank You’ plastic bag, places a white takeout tupperware in front of himself and pushes one to Papyrus. Sure to always create the illusion of power by serving Papyrus last. 

“I expect your best behavior when the king comes this week.” The doctor hums and Papyrus almost cracks a grin. The doctor actually got him something he asked for? He twists the plastic cover up and is overwhelmed with the scent of hot food. Smokey wood grilled mystery meat, a side of mushroom and carrots and a bed of rice everything was served on. It looked cute sitting in one box together. Like a box lunch made by a caring mother. Papyrus picked up a spoon and took his first bite, tearful when the flavors exploded on his tongue.

“Best behavior ever!!!” Papyrus hums. “Hell, I’ll give him a song and dance!!” 

All the noise has startled Red to wake. One look at the doctor and he is in a panic frenzy. Immediately, bone attacks start to flood out from him. Aiming at the doctors general direction but missing. Papyrus almost snickers, watching the doc scatter back in fear was a nice change in pace. The recoil of each bone teeters Reds chair back until his chair falls backwards and bones strike through the wall and ceiling until Red stopped on his own and crawls underneath Papyrus’s seat. Papyrus has to crane his head to catch sight of him. 

“He doesn’t like you, huh doc? Smart kid.” The doctor scooted back to his chair, wary of the child beneath the table. This time he hadn’t been hit with an attack but it still put him on edge. 

“...He’s part of the G series, back before I had perfected the P’s. When I woke him from stasis he was already starting to decompose, so I had to work fast to get him to stabilize. Grabbing sedative would have stalled me, besides there's no telling what kind of reaction he would have had in that state.”

“So you operated on a newborn while he was awake…?”

“Precisely.”

“That why you forgot to feed me?”

“Come now P6, we both know you don't need food to survive. I was busy, and you were detained. I didn’t have to worry about you wandering around getting yourself in trouble.”

“Greeeeat... not like you could have locked a door or anything. It's always my fault. Could have gone to my room. Could have sent an assistant down here. Could have hooked me up to your favorite I.V. drip. Could have-”

“Shut up and eat, P6.” 

Beneath the table Red cozies up to Papyrus’s leg and shields himself behind the skeleton. The single eye glows beneath the table, the child was not letting his guard down now that the doctor arrived. If Papyrus were alone, he’d pick up the kid. He felt sympathetic for him, not as a brother but as creatures made to live in this underground beneath the underground. Not even the artificial sun light lamps would reach down here. Just naked light bulbs, fluorescent lights, and the red iris lens of a camera in each corner. 

Picking up Red would be bad. If his hand touched the collar, even by accident the contraption would unlock. And if he didn’t- well, the doctor would see another point of leverage over Papyrus. Something to exploit. Red’s purpose of life was to keep him tethered to the lab, to have something to care about so that he wouldn’t leave. Fine by him, at least it wouldn’t be so lonely when the doctor was gone. He’d just wish the doctor would have done this when he was younger. It would have been better to grow up with that happiness knowing someone was by his side. 

“You said the G series was made before me, are there others? Failed experiments? “

“Don’t speak with your mouth full. Yes. There are amalgamates, nothing that would have a shred of intelligence left.-The others have already been scrapped, I suppose their failure had some purpose in leveling up myself and the king. Helped to maintain order, no one would listen to a powerless king after all. 

“If I fail are you going to scrap me too? Him?”

“... that remains to be seen.” The doctor leaned back, throwing a heavy arm over the side of the metal chair. Despite being healed it seems mobility is still stiff for him. “You’ve been stable the longest… if you fail I’d have to make plans what to do with you. I wouldn’t allow you to go roaming the streets as you pleased. Its much too dangerous. Lets see… you're much too old to be recycled and neither I nor Asgore could use the extra levels. Perhaps you’ll find a place in the labs. An apprentice. Yes. You can help me make, P7. ” 

“Hell… even in a hypothetical scenario you still wont let me go.”

“You offered me a intriguing question, I’m just being rational. It wouldn’t make sense to let my favorite experiment go, perhaps if we went together… but no. Its dangerous to go alone. Take this warning to heart, P6. You’re safer here, with me.” 

“Pfft. You say its dangerous and spooky… but everytime I run into employees and strangers they’re always nice. A lady even thought I was lost and helped me get to the security office. Gave me a lollipop and her daughters coloring book.” 

“I remember that… you crossed the fourth floor that day. And I fired the incompetent little-...  
-sigh- P6, you must understand… you cannot leave. I abhore when you try your little escape games. The underground really is a bad place.”

“You say that about everything…”

“It's not a mind game to keep you here out of fear, it's a simple fact. Monsters murder each other up there for sport. It’s chaos. The labs are only safe because we have the best minds gathered in one isolated fortress. Monsters here are meek, but intelligent. They cannot fight and so competition exists in the form of progress. If you leave this place… I wouldn’t doubt someone would love to farm exp off of you.” 

“Farm? Like what… I’m an animal? A labrat? Is that seriously all I am to you, doc?”

“No… no. I mean farm, as a resource. Though I prefer you were designed as cattle, in a matter of speaking.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are a coalescence of love, P6. It's what I found was keeping monsters stable after the initial growth period. A monster would probably gain a couple levels just by cutting off your arm. And they would do it again and again and again and-”

The doctor grows quiet. A silence Papyrus knew to be mourning. Not many assistants came down to the labs, visits were often just the king for routine checks, but Papyrus knew from their small chats that the skeleton monsters were near extinction. He’d wondered before if the doc created him and others like him to preserve their species as well as open the seal.

“...As skeleton monsters we have the advantage of reanimating ourselves with magic. More than creatures of flesh, we are in tune with it. Regeneration is natural… necessary.”

“Could I do that too?”

“Yes, though I doubt you could now with your limited knowledge of magic.The project was originally meant to genetically engineer clones, cattle, full of exp.Like pinatas... But it became apparent no monster could hold a value over 20 without becoming a lord and - oh? Oh-hoh! You’ve got me rambling again... I really do need to watch my tongue with you. Familiarity does not make us equals.”

“Don’t blame me, I didn’t say anything about farms and lords.”

“…Quite.”

They continue eating, this time in complete silence. Not even the refrigerator dare hums to break the stale quiet. Papyrus didn’t even instigate anything this time. He just wanted to know more. More about everything. Anytime the doctor talked about the outside was great. From his stories of war, to his few friends and employee encounters… the stories made this place feel lived in. Because without them he wouldn’t have any hope… 

Here he was the patient. And the doc was…uh- the doctor. Talking was a small leisure between tests. The only relief he had was that Red was brought back from stasis. The last few days without testing weren’t a joy… being confined to the cell rooms with nothing to eat was just as torturous. No doubt testing would begin again after dinner… following the same schedule as always. 

Which made little sense to Papyrus. How could the doctor perform the same experiments and expect different results? Wasn’t that the definition of insanity? 

A tugging at his leg reminds him of the new brother he’s acquired. The small skeleton looked up at him from beneath the table and mouthed small inaudible babble all the while pointing at his mouth. A look towards the doctor showed the latter had no interest in this. He nursed his shoulder, while trying not to appear wounded. He was struggling eating, his fork trembled in his grip. Across the table, Papyrus eyes the jars of baby food and picks one up. Spinach yum.

The lid pops open with a click and he hands it to the little guy. 

“Are you an idiot?” The grumble from the doctor causes alarm in both subjects. Papyrus snaps his head back up to look at the doc, Red shutters. “Handing him food wont do anygood. His motor skills are that of a toddler. He can’t even stand on his own… you expect him to feed himself?” He snatches the jar from his grip and crouches under the table. Papyrus stares at the empty chair as he hears the cooing from the doc. “Come here G4.~ look its foood! Yummy.” 

He wondered if the doc ever did that with him when he was little…. Probably not. The doctor was not a patient man. Coupled with the fact that no other subjects had been stable this long Papyrus had a pretty good idea his life as a baby was something expectant for failure. Childhood was a different story though. He remembered the tired look the doctor would wear, exhausted from dealing with Papyrus. Paps would thrash about, knocking over tables if he could in a fuss to not get another shot or to plead to go back to his room. And the doctor, as a last resort to have his way, caved into the idiotic mindset of a child and put a sock puppet over his hand to draw attention away from the injections. They worked..for a time. Until ‘mr.injection’ became something he learned to run away from. 

“Yum. Yum. Yum. Food in my belly. Come here or I’ll eat all of it , G4! Wowie… my favorite…” 

Red doesn’t even hesitate, he still clung to the skeletons leg staying far from the doc.

“This is pretty pathetic old man.” Papyrus rolled his eyes, his eye sockets becoming as black and hollow as the void. “He’s not gonna come to you. You fucked him up. Fucked us both up. ...you can’t repent with food.”

The doc leans his weight against the table for help to stand back up. “Why not? It had positive results when I bribed you with food.” 

“Yeah but I-”

Suddenly the room is filled with an ear piercing alarm. The lights shut off and the red alarm lights flood to glorious circular life, their glow lasting moments as they swirled inside the glass cage. Papyrus snapped his hands up to the side of his head, trying to block out the rattling inside his skull. 

“I swear it wasn’t me!” 

But the doc is ignoring him, he jumps to his feet and slams down the cannister of food. “Follow me.” His white lab coat whooshes out behind him as he walks, creating a guide for Papyrus to follow, but he can’t. Red anchored him down. 

Quickly, Papyrus swept up his brother in an arm and let him rest against his chest like before. The red lights flashed in the hallway too. It was disorienting to them both. Paps turned in place, his attention drawn down the hall to follow after the doctor.When the doctor needs to unlock a door the sound of chains from the metallic clinking of keys creates a symphony with the alarm. A door is pushed open, then another, then another. 

Papyrus recognized this path, he’d been past here before. The surveillance room was up ahead. The small broom closet of a room is completely dark, unlike the rest of the facility bathed in the warm glows of emergency red lights. The room only pulsates with the blue glows from each monitor. Dozens and dozens of monitors that took up the entire wall and then the adjacent wall. A chair and a desk are the only other furniture. 

The doctor takes his chair while Papyrus and Red stand in the doorway, carefully pushing Red’s hands away from the device on his neck. On the monitors, black and white images show monsters fleeing for their lives from something off screen. His eyelights dark between each camera, trying to piece together what else was in the room with them. A desk flips over, papers fly off in every direction. Black goo snails behind the creatures path, marking the places it had been before. 

“An intruder?” Papyrus hitches his breath. “Are they here for me? For us?”

“Calm down, P6. Its not a break in. … Its a break out.” He picks up the landline phone. “Alert the royal guard. Code Yellow.” and hangs up. Then he places a master key in the console and turns it, silencing all alarms on this floor. 

“Doc, what is that? Whats going on? Whats code yellow?” 

“That…- thing- is an amalgamate, left over residue from when we scrap a host. It must have escaped its bonds… Not to worry though… if it even has a scrap of intelligence it will take the elevators up, not down.The royal guard is already on their way.”

“Royal…. Asgore’s guys? Soldiers ?”

“Yes. They will have to dispatch it…” 

Red makes a whine in his throat. The noise from the alarms had finally been shut off but the skeleton had yet to eat. Papyrus pat his head, trying to calm him. He also wanted to finish his meal, but staring at the monitors was more important. Food could wait. 

The black sludge, gelatinous and yet solid, smashes through desks and office cubicles. The employees quickly make their way to elevators, stairs and barricade themselves inside of emergency zones and offices with doors. The chaos on the upper levels is muted but still, it feels like he can hear the screams from here. 

“They’re dieing...”

“If you don’t have the stomach to watch then go sit in the hall.” But Pap doesn’t move. He watches as the royal guard, people dressed in heavy armor uniforms, enter the building and work their way down each floor, rushing past the waves of employees both dead and alive. They confront the monster, unleashing new torents of magic Papyrus had never seen before. And they fail. One by one, each of them are smothered to death by the weight of the creature, absorbed into its being and burned alive in the acid of its being. 

Monsters don’t even have the mercy of dusting as the acid slowly burns away at them. The doctor stands up and summons his blaster. The purple haze of magic smells of a brush fire, the bone creature in its place is a blaster bigger than any Papyrus could manifest. He stands in awe of the creature, his own had been sealed to a separate vessel. So this was how it was supposed to look like…

“Wait here.” The doctor pushes him aside and heads to the door, barely a stern warning of - “Don’t wander off while I’m gone.” as he bolts down the hall.

His brother pulls at him, whining for food. He pets Reds head again, trying to console him however he could. He was too fixated with the cameras to move right now. His eyes dart to the many screens, following the doctor as he took the elevator up. His magic pulsated, made the cameras flicker as the blasters grew in number. Two. Then three. Then four… 

The doors open and he helps employees where he can. His blasters make quick work of scanning for survivors and in their mouths they take loads of victims and drag them away to safety elsewhere. The doctor follows the trail of slime, one blaster always behind him to watch his back. 

Papyrus bit back a breath. 

The doctor comes face to face with the monster and a fight begins


	3. Final Warning

There is a certain beauty in the way the doctor fought. He avoids damage like he was dancing. Each attack is purposeful and swift. Pulses of energy lights emit from the blasters mouths and cut through the beast with precision. It is a stark contrast to see the beast lash out, his tendrils are undefined by any shape. It intends to aim for the doctor but strikes desks and chairs. Everything touched by its gelatinous form is coated in black sludge. 

Papyrus inches closer to the monitor. 

When the doctor leaps to avoid an attack he is the essence of grace. Like a professional pole vaulter, his back curves through his jump and his body twists towards the direction he needs to face to attack. Mid-air, blasters will follow his slight hand movements and be guided to place to launch blasts. He is relentless. 

Papyrus taps the side of the screen. It was amazing and terrifying to see the doctor fighting but he is weakened. His performance isn’t for the camera or himself.. When he lands on one foot and bows with his arms extended he does so to keep his balance. He doesn't want to land on his other foot. He doesn’t want to show pain or weakness, but Papyrus sees through the act. 

The doctor is hit, thrown across the room like he was a swatted fly. But his blasters respond without command, cushioning his fall and rushing to his aid. They retaliate, cutting holes in the creatures with energy beams and bone attacks. Papyrus can’t read either of their status through the screen. He had no idea if the doctor was winning or losing. 

“Muuuuh!” Sans slapped his cheek and whined for food. Papyrus quietly shushed him, grabbing his tiny hand in his as he stared at the small black and white box. In the brief moment he’d taken his eyes off the screen the battle was over. The sludge was nothing more than a puddle and the doc was lying face down in it. His blasters surrounded him, nipping at him to get up. 

“He’s… still alive.” Papyrus breathed. He had to be if the blasters were still manifested. But he was falling down… and fast. Papyrus fled the surveillance room and got to the elevator. He didn’t have an id card but since when had he ever needed one? 

He grabbed the iron hand railings and pulled himself up on it to stand. With the kids extra weight on his shoulders he felt wobbly but he was able to maintain his balance just long enough to pry open the emergency exit. 

“Hold on Sans!” He urged the newborn, even though the clone probably didn’t understand speech yet it gave Papyrus comfort while he was racing to climb up. The doctor was on the fourth floor. Papyrus had been higher than that before. He knew his way up there. He could take this elevator all the way up… but climbing was difficult and there was a stairwell on section seven he could use. 

He inched his way up the elevator cable, feeling the tightness of grubby fingers pull at his back ribs. Up ahead was the seventh floor doors, marked by a small inch wide platform for him to stand up on and pry the doors open. Sans started smacking his spine, making small whines of hunger. “S-stop! That!” Papyrus grit his teeth and dug his phalanges into the gap of the door. Slowly, surely it popped open. After a certain width had been registered the doors opened by themselves and Papyrus, and Sans in tow, slid through. The doors, with a musical chime, closed again after them.

Papyrus fell to his knees and reached behind himself for Sans. The child easily came forward, letting go of his ribs and let himself be carried. Papyrus held him to eye level. “HEY! You can’t go smacking me when we’re dangling in mid-air! I know you're hungry… I’m hungry! We’ll eat after this okay?!”

He stared at the piercing red eyes and wondered if anything was comprehended. Probably not… Sans sucked on three of his own tiny fingers. “Fine. Just… stay here.” Papyrus cringed. He should have left his brother to begin with. Nothing in the immediate area seemed dangerous. The elevator doors were closed and all monsters had evacuated. The only thing the kid could hurt himself was probably a stapler or a paper weight. He set him down beneath the corner desk of a cubicle and quickly stood back up to meet with the doctor again. Papyrus ran through the line of cubicles for the way up. 

The facility was well kept, but many sectors of it ran on different emergency protocols.Some halls still had the glowing red emergency lights activated. Some only had the sound of the siren. Some had none. Some areas had entire hallways sealed off. Papyrus only miraculously found the stairs on a whim and ascended as fast as he could. 

The stairwell from seven to six ended there. Papyrus had to get out at that floor and find the next way up. The whole lab was a giant puzzle meant to keep anyone without an access card stalled for as long as possible. 

Six ran into floor Five. Papyrus knew the pattern through each hall to get to the next floor. He ran as fast as he could, not knowing if the doc would still be up there by the time he reached him, but on the stairwell where five led up to four he was stopped by a tiny presence. 

“Puup!” Grabby little hands reached up into the sky, wanting to be carried. Papyrus had to do a double take to make sure what he was seeing was real. How in Asgores name did the child manage to get up here? Papyrus put a hand to his chest, breathing heavy and went back to pick up Sans. 

“Can’t leave you alone for two minutes, nyeh?” He felt a small laugh turn into a cough. He panted for air, he’d been sprinting non stop through the offices. Now he was at the end of his journey. They’d face whatever was on the opposite side of those doors together. Whether it be dust or… 

Papyrus held his breath, despite how it felt like it would explode in his throat, and pushed open the fourth floor doors. 

…

He doesn't see anyone. Not at first. There are desks thrown over each other and black puddles on the ceiling and walls. The place smells like death and dust and iron. Blood streaks some cubicles along with the soot of dust. It sparkles in the light, looks magnificent though its beauty is something that makes Papyrus nauseous. He stopped running, now walking through these silent halls. More silent than the inaudible recordings in the surveillance room. 

Death and destruction all around… papers flew by as a fan uselessly blew them off a desk.A water pipe had broken overhead and a few lamps had been smashed, some still flickering. Pieces of clothing, weapons, armor… civilians and the royal guard struck down in one fair blow. 

His bare toes squished in a red liquid. It painted the pads of his feet and he left the footprints as he walked towards an opening in the room. A place where all the desks had been swept aside for a battle field. 

The doctor was there, not moving. 

Only two of his blasters remained, though they too had stopped moving. Instead they nuzzled close to him, lying in the stillness of a monster fallen down. They whined as if they wept and when Papyrus stepped closer the two pups growled but protectively hovered over their meister. 

Papyrus stepped closer, got down to both his knees and crawled to the doctor. The blaster pups seemed not to mind him as he lowered himself to the ground. Like this, he imitated the great apes of the jungle… brother clung to his back like a small monkey. 

“Doc…” Papyrus rolled him over, careful of hurting him. In person he could check on his stats… what was left of them. His hp was completely gone. The only thing keeping him together was the lack of a deadly blow. A monster could stay intact like this with no health for days… he was falling down. 

Papyrus sat beside him, he remembered hearing how the doctor had lost his friends this way. Family would have time to say their farewells and then they would spread the dust on the things the monster loved most in life. … This was goodbye, wasn’t it?

“Hey doc… not looking so good. Nyeh heh…” Papyrus got a little choked up, even the small jokes felt heavy in his throat. Two pupils start to form and stare up at him. The doc was still conscious… just barely. The corner of his mouth and eye socket leaked the same black goo as the creature. He’d been lying in that puddle for so long it looked like it started to absorb into him. Papyrus wiped off what he could with his sleeve. 

“P6, I told yuh not’to wander off…” The doctor sounded so weak…. Not his usual demanding self. He lacked the pompous attitude and diction of a scientist. “You coulda… been hurt.”

“I’m okay doc, look. So is Sans. You’re gonna be just fine too~I’ll get you a healer and-!”

“Don’t leave.”Though the doctor couldn’t even turn himself a moment ago, he had the strength to snatch Papyrus’s hand in his own. “Don’t leave, P6. Its… dangerous. The underground is… dangerous.” 

Papyrus paused. He felt the hand holding his own, warm. It was a comfort to hold the docs hand like this. When he was little he’d long to hold his hand and have a dad. A normal dad. He’d try to hold the docs hand, only to be skulked away… the doc never wanted to get attached. That's why he never used his name. That's why even after all these years conversation was stunted and experimentation persisted. Papyrus held the hand in his own. Holding it with both palms. 

“Its okay doc, I’ll heal you then. Its okay…” A blaster started to dissipate, dissolving to a grain of purple magic dust. This left only one blaster to mope beside his master. 

Papyrus turned his head to look back at Sans. The grumbling from the others soul revealed a bit about what he was currently thinking of. The scene unfolding in front of him having little to do with him getting a meal. Papyrus let go of the doc for only a moment, reaching back for Sans and moving his hand forward to undo the magic dampening device. 

It heavily fell to the ground and Sans snatched back his hand to shove it right in his own mouth. Papyrus didn’t mind. He too, had a one track mind.

He worked quickly, enveloping his hands in the green glow of magic. He pressed it to the docs hand, holding his grip tight. “Its okay, doc. Its okay…” He chanted. There was no soul left to heal, it had shattered before Papyrus arrived. All that remained was the husk of a shell. The doctors last bit of consciousness… fading. 

Another pup disintegrated. The last one. His magic was thin… barely able to keep the lights in his eye sockets turned towards Papyrus. 

“Its…

Dan...ger..ous…

P...six…. Don’t … 

Wander….

Pap-”

…  
…  
…

 

-And he was gone.


	4. Saudade

Dust sifted through his fingers. It seeped through the gaps in bone and fell to the floor in a poof of soot. Nothing was left of the doctor but a lab coat. 

There was a lump in the back of Papyrus’s throat, one that threatened to make him vomit right there. The doctor just…. Poofed. Like he had been a goddamn fairy he just vanished into a pile of dust and clothes!

Tears streamed down his cheekbones. His teeth clenched tight and he stared at his own hands, the ashen color marking his digits. 

“...Dooc?” He chokes up on the words, swallowing back bile as he stared down at the floor. He waits, holding his breath, for someone to respond. He expected the doctor to respond like he always did… maybe if he called again he would answer.

“Doctor?... … . .. .. . Doctor??” 

He moved to shake the lab coat. He patted it down and grasped at the fabric as if searching for a tiny doctor inside the clothes. Maybe the doc had only shrunk. He was still alive! 

He had to be!

He was always there! 

He was always… always…!!!

He pounded the spot where his creator had been. The doc was… gone.

He knew it was true. He knew he had to accept it, but he sat on the floor and cried with the intensity of a toddler. He banged the floor and made incomprehensible words, begging for the doctor to come back. COME BACK!

But nobody came. 

…

He was alone. … well, not alone. He sat back up and wiped snot into his sleeve. Sobering up from his tantrum, though his eyes still felt sore and his lips trembled to wail again. 

He had Sans. ...His only family left. 

He picks up his new brother and holds him close to his chest. This was the only family he had ever had. He had to preserve what was left of it…He was a big brother now. He had to look after Sans and…and…  
\- he felt the tears swell up in his eyes again- 

What was he going to do now that the doc was gone?

There wouldn’t be anymore tests… that was good. No more experiments. No more tissue samples. No more drilling through bone. No more injections… no more transfusions…

...But he didn’t feel like celebrating. He wanted to bawl his eyes out and curl up into a corner. What the hell was he supposed to do anymore? What had he try to do before? Escape? He just wanted to go outside… he didn’t want this. He didn’t want the doc to be… !!!

His brother smacked him flat across the bottom of his jaw. Papyrus remained frozen under the weightless force of Sans’s slap. He looks down at his brother in his lap. The intense gaze Sans wore was a reminder to him- as if to say ‘stop being so weak!’ Papyrus sniffled. He wiped at his tears again, running out of clean places on his sleeve. He’d have to be stronger. For both of them. 

It’s just… death. He tried to undermine the pile of dust and convince himself this was no big deal. After all, the Doc said this happened all the time in the underground. Said it was normal. Said it was dangerous. 

… 

The doc made peace with his comrades deaths… Papyrus would too. 

Sans whined. He’d try to get the attention of the taller one by smacking him. Everyone else was shoving stuff in their mouth earlier and he didn’t get too. He wanted to eat! It wasn’t fair! 

Wait. What was coming closer to him? The large hand hovered over his head. A pinch of dust was sprinkled over his forehead. Papyrus picked up more and spread it over his own skull. The grey color crowns him. 

He stands. Done with his tantrum. Done with his mourning. 

Sans sneezes at the dust pile. His own farewell of snot. 

Papyrus raided the clothing for a wallet and ID card, then picks up his brother. They head to the elevator together and wait for it to come back up. A jingle lets them know it's arrived at their floor. They step inside and he swipes the ID card to allow access to all the floors. A piano melody pays their decent down. Back to the very bottom level. Back through the same tiring hallways.

He sits at the kitchen table and holds Sans in his lap. And he stares at the wall. 

The inflictions on the cement wall meant nothing before. A few outbursts… thrown chairs… slammed cabinets. A dirty smudge from the first time he’d try to cook and burned food. … Scratches from when the doctor heaved down a microwave for easy cooking- and leaned on the wall too long. Long narrow holes and cracks from the bone attacks Sans had left just an hour ago.

…His brother plays in the plate before him. Smacking food against his front teeth. He picks up a piece of meat and tries to eat but he can’t seem to get it. He whines, throws the meat at the wall where it slides into Papyrus’s focus and drips to the floor. 

His eyelights focus. He blinks a few times to clear his mind of his own thoughts. Sans was his priority now. He picked up his brother and sat him on the table. “Look Sans, look.” He points at his teeth and unhinges his jaw, opening his teeth and showing his pale tongue to the other. Sans mimics him. Pointing at his own teeth and smiles. And smiles. 

Papyrus frowns.

The doctor said he couldn’t feed himself yet. Maybe there was more to it than him being just hatched or whatever… Papyrus grabbed a jar from the grocery bag and took it over to the sink. He ran hot water over it. 

… and then dunked his head under the faucet and stayed there for a while.


	5. Like Father, Like Son

Vwwooooom~ The airplane soars through the air, carrying a cargo of green sludge through loops and zigzags until it arrives at its destination- Sans teeth.

The spoon clinks against his teeth, unable to progress any further. Papyrus boorishly tries again, this time adding bigger whooshing noises, to the best of his ability. It's hard to pretend to be so cheerful when he felt like vomiting inside.

No amount of water could wash off the memory of the doc falling down. Merely dust between his fingers…

“Come on Sans… eat.” Papyrus rubbed his unhinged his jaw to make a show of opening his mouth. How did the doc do this? He did something stupidly embarrassing like... “Wowie… this is my favorite flavor of mush. Yum yum yum.” He takes a fake bite from the miniscule spoon and makes a show of chewing the invisible food. He swallowed back bile and goes through the act to scoop out more veggie slosh.

Again he winds up the spoon ‘airplane’ and unenthusiastically goes through the same motions to feed Sans. The spoonful of vegetable mush circles around, drawing Sans’s attention as he eagerly slaps his hands on the table. 

Clink

The spoon is met by his teeth again. Papyrus slumps forward into the palm of his hand. This couldn’t be happening right now. How could this monster be so stupid as to not know how to open his mouth? Was he this way too when he was little? Do skeletons innately have their jaws glued together?

Sans seemingly is trying to accept the spoonful, his clammy hands try to reach for the spoon so Papyrus relinquishes it and lets him have a go. His motor skills aren’t developed that well, but Sans is familiar enough somehow with the idea ‘food goes into mouth.´ 

After dropping about six spoonfuls onto the table and his own clothes, he succeeded in doing the same thing Papyrus tried. He smooshed food against his front teeth hoping for it to go in.

Sans starts to cry. A half hiccup starts the early warnings of a tantrum. With a smile on his face and tears in his eyes, he cried in the strangest way. Papyrus closed his eyes, trying to block out the sounds from his brother. 

This couldn’t be happening to him. Not to him. How was he supposed to handle this? 

He looks out at his new brother, but Papyrus was detached and unresponsive. To him. it felt like the crying was only white noise. A mocking show for the inner turmoil in his gut.

Was he laughing? Was he crying? Who could tell when that permanent smile was glued to his face? That smug smile and teary eyes… insulting him, playing with the emotions Papyrus wanted to push deep down. He started to loathe that smile.

Anger was next to ignite in him. 

“SHUT UP!” Papyrus slams his hands down, effectively reducing the cries back to silent hiccups. “WHY ARE YOU CRYING?! HUH? WHY ARE YOU EVEN-!!” he hisses a short breath and stands up before he throws the damn baby food against the wall and pace angrily around the kitchen. 

What would the doc do? To feed a kid… to save monster kind… The answer was simple. ‘I do what i need to.’ The doc never cared about right or wrong… he simply did what had to be done. 

The fridge. 

There were an abundance of foreign liquids in vials there. A syringe housing each one. Papyrus tore open the fridge door, letting it dent the back wall, and grabbed them by the handful. The dubious liquids were plunged into the sink. He barely gave the barrel a rinse of water before he was already coming back to the table and stuck the needle in the vegetable pudding, mixing it with whatever contaminant was previously there. 

“You want a reason to CRY?!” Papyrus yells. He’s never held a needle before… but the doc had expertly jammed one in him every single day. This was no different. He grabbed his little brother and pinned him to the table with his knee. “EAT. STUPID!” He wedged the needle between the gap in his teeth and pushed the plunger down. 

Sans started choking up. Hiccups and coughs one and the same. His tiny hands scrambled for purchase but had no fight against the bigger monster. 

“THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED RIGHT?! STOP FIGHTING!!! I’M DOING THIS FOR YOU! STOP FIGHTING ME YOU LITTLE --!!” 

Sans was crying again. Thick magic laden tears of red poured from his eyes… like blood.

Papyrus jerked at the sight, his eyes only focussed on his brothers complete submission and sobbing. Without looking at the smile plastered to the skeletons face… being this close he could strangle Sans…. He could see the fear in his eyes. Raw, uncomprehending fear. 

He saw himself. 

The same fear and paralysis of being strapped down to a table while the doc operated. Darker days when words weren’t shared or understood and yet Papyrus was old enough to know fear. To know the needle was bad. That injections were scary and painful and… 

Papyrus takes a foot off the table and draws back with the syringe in his hand. He walks backwards until his back hits a wall and still feels the distance isn’t far enough. His little brother sits up and scrambles off the table on his own right. Mimicking the same fear and self loathing Papyrus felt. 

They sit in opposite corner of the kitchen… both of them too afraid to cry. 

If the doc had been here…. He would have known what to do. Papyrus just had to wait for him to comeback. Yes. If he waited like a good boy and didn’t try to escape the doctor would return any moment now. 

Only he didn’t. 

He wasn’t. 

He was never coming back because he dusted in Papyrus’s hands. 

… Dusted by his hands.

The levels were attached to his status. A permanent part of him now. 

As the last magic user to lay claim to the doctor, he’d unwillingly become part of his falling down by trying to heal him. If he hadn’t intervened… the doctor would still be alive. And now the doctor would never come back and it was all his fault! Papyrus had killed him-!!

… or so he told himself. Grief corrupted his mind. 

Now he was no better than the doctor… hurting Sans to complete a menial task. There were other ways to feed him… Less painful.. Less aggressive ways. He could have fed him through an IV or through his soul. Just the concept of hunger must have meant the doctor had fed him before… Papyrus had full access to all those tapes now… he could have checked them and watched how the doctor did it. 

But it didn’t matter, Sans would never forgive him. If Papyrus just thought about it for a minute and tried to come up with a solution he wouldn’t have lost his brother today too. 

No, he still hadn’t lost him. Sans was right here. He could earn his respect back. His trust. 

“Sans. I’m sorry… if you had just opened your mouth I wouldn’t have had to hurt you! I wouldn’t have -” Papyrus shuts his mouth and stares out at his brother. The other doesn’t understand him at all… his apology dies in the air. 

If he went to his room… maybe he could bring back a pillow or something soft. Something that would comfort his brother. Something physical would be a better apology than words, something his brother could understand as tangible. If only he could get him a toy maybe Sans would trust him again! 

But… no, Papyrus had to do something now. Leaving the room would only further the gap between himself and his brother. He stands back up, much to Sans’s horror, to try to make amends. 

A bolt of red bone strikes past Papyrus. A warning. 

But he doesn't keep his distance, he continues forward. Content with the idea that if he’s struck down it's his own fault. If Sans hurt him, it was because he scared his brother enough to be seen as a threat. Papyrus was nothing but trash… and Sans should hate him forever…

He wasn’t worthy to have a brother. Not even a fake one. 

Another bone shoots past him, but Papyrus avoids it by collapsing to his knees and giving into the depression shrouding him. It wouldn’t matter if Sans killed him now. The royal guard that had been notified and destroyed were probably and offeset elite team, few who had access to the upper floors of the facility. But down here… no one but the king himself and doctor were allowed. If Papyrus dusted… he’d go unmissed and uncared for. 

Maybe he deserved to die. His bones should dust here with his creator. … He was a useless experiment, a pathetic son who would attack a child. He hated himself. Hated how easily he’d give into the doctor's crueler ways and mimic him just to find means to an end. 

But… 

But it didn’t have to be that way. 

He had Sans. He had a brother. He had family he swore he would protect. His hands were stained with the love of his creator… but Sans was innocent. Pure. 

Holding out his hands, he slowly approaches the other skeleton. Able to pick Sans up even though his brother was crying. He held his brother to his chest and stood up with him. The fight leaving both of them. 

He was reaching the final stages now. His weary bones led him around the offices without much thought. He found himself in front of the fishtanks where he and his brother had been made. They linger on the tubes for a moment. Coming to terms with their birthplace. Papyrus finds his blaster mask and a smaller one tampered by the doctor. He slid them into a bag. 

The doctor was … gone. He had to accept that. He had to move on from the life he once had here in the labs. The doctors warning hummed in his ears but there was nothing left for them here. 

The brothers step into the elevator. With the card key in hand, they bypass all the safety floors. They watch the numbers on the screen go up one by one. The ascent to start their new life.


	6. Wander ~ Fell

Among a sea of white lab coats, Papyrus and Sans wore green.

Eyes turned on him as he left the elevators and trounced forward… unsure of where to go. The scientists that had escaped the beasts savage destruction were waiting for the clear to go back inside, unaware that everything that remained inside was only dust. Their colleagues, the royal guard, the beast… all gone. Nothing would reset the alarms or send in a clear to enter. So the scientists waited, herded together like sheep.

The doctor told him once, this was a safe haven for the intelligent. Those who could not fight, worked beneath the underground in the labs. They were content… safe from the danger above. Being forced out of their cavern, the scientists awkwardly stumble about, attempting to make casual conversation when all they’ve seen is the inside of their cubicles. They’re just as numb to the underground as Papyrus is blind to it.

They recognize him…Not particularly as an experiment, but the green alerts everyone to the signs of a patient. Some try to help him and his brother, a wave of concern crowds him but he politely tries to get past them. Others know just by looking that he is not merely a teenager in the labs, but they are too timid to do anything more than stare. Or perhaps it is because they are fearful of his level… he feels eyes pierce him the way the doctor did when he checked his health. They are looking at his stats, looking at the sheer amount of love he has for a child.

Papyrus makes his way through the hoard, unperturbed by the sheer number of employees; they mean no harm. He pulls at his shirt, the plastic mesh of fabric is somewhat stifling, the underground is hotter than he had thought. The air conditioned labs below ground were somewhat damp and smelled of earth, mold, and antiseptic… but from the moment he opened those elevator doors all he smelled was ash and sulfur. The exhaust from machinery added to the complex stirrings of lava below.

Red sands marked the earth, pillars balanced precariously just above the level of what would tolerable to sustain life. Papyrus had a hard time breathing here. What breath he could manage came out short and strangled. He realised, much too late, that he’d still adorned his collar. The metal hunk that inhibited his magic. He quickly palmed Reds hand in his to dispose of it.

He began his search for a home. A new place to start a new life. So many things were confusing to him. He’d never seen so many vibrant colors before, nor did he understand the materials he was looking at. The sand beneath his feet marked his soles, but not in the same way as dirt and dust. Its color was rusted but the sands felt hot. He only briefly touched it, still wary of his surroundings he pressed on. Too afraid to stay in one place at a time.

The doc said this place was dangerous… and yet it was calm. Too calm for his liking. It was too quiet. Too empty. Papyrus felt like he was being watched long after he had cleared the area of scientists. His baby bro was fast asleep over his shoulder, unaware of the panic boiling inside of Papyrus.

“Don’t leave P6. The underground is dangerous.” Yes, he heard those words thousands of times while growing up but never paid any mind to it. He wanted to go out. He wanted to meet other things his age and leave the stuffy labs for just one day of play. The old man wouldn’t even let him explore the bottommost floor. Playing was limited to the use he had with his blaster but even that was fleeting. Outside was supposed to be different.

… he should have been enjoying this. He waited so long to finally be out here. To smell the air. To taste more than just the cold take out Doc brought. He wanted to try ice cream! He wanted to run in a stream! To be alive!

But … he couldn’t just enjoy those simple pleasures. The doctors words haunted him, melting in his arms as he warned Papyrus to stay away. Stay away from what? It seemed like the opposite. Everything else was staying away from him. He slid on his blaster mask as a front, fully knowing it was broken. Oddly enough, other monsters didn’t wear masks similar to his. He suspected that it was something the doc did to make him different from the others.

With no idea where to go or who to trust... he held onto his brother tightly and wandered through the underground.


End file.
